Footrests that retract out of position when not in use are commonly found on collapsible or “folding” wheelchairs. The benefits of these retractable footrests are two fold. First, once it is retracts, this type of footrest facilitates the folding of the wheelchair into a smaller overall size. Secondly, the footrest can be retracted away from its normal position, supporting the weight of the users feet, so that the user may put their feet directly on the floor beneath the footrest. This aids the users in transferring into and out of the wheelchair. Some wheelchairs that have a rigid frame which does not collapse into a smaller size can also benefit from the addition of a swing away footrest. Since these rigid frames do not collapse, that particular benefit of the retractable footrest is not utilized, but the improvement in transferring into and out of the wheelchair are every but as necessary in a rigid frame wheelchair as they are in a collapsible wheelchair. Some types of rigid wheelchair designs rely upon the footrest as a structural member of the overall wheelchair frame and therefore the integrity of the frame would be compromised by a retractable footrest design similar to those found on collapsible wheelchairs. Some retractable footrest designs may attempt to provide some structural rigidity by interlocking in some way when they are functioning as a footrest, but this rigidity is lost when they are retracted for a user transferring in or out of the chair, a point at which it is arguable that the rigidity of the chair is most critical. This design addresses that particular issue by providing a retractable footrest that maintains a structurally rigid cross member regardless of the orientation of the footrest itself.